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Badenmobil
What can companies do to help solve traffic problems? Actually quite a lot, as the project in the Swiss city Baden shows.
Businesses were the chief focus of the "badenmobil" project initiated by the city of Baden, in the Swiss canton Aargau, and its neighbouring municipalities.
Proper mobility management efforts in companies can make a key contribution toward solving traffic problems in cities. The goal was to offer businesses with more than 100 employees various services, such as an assessment of their initial situation and qualified mobility consultants, within the context of an initial consultation free of charge. Financial support was offered in the following way:
up to 50% of the costs for the consulting process were subsidised and many matters were referred to the competent municipal and cantonal authorities.
In addition, "badenmobil" also acts as a communication and exchange platform. The companies that took part in the initial project phase from 2003-2006 had great potential for improvement,potential that was exploited successfully. The percentage of automobile traffic dropped from as high as 85% to under 25% in some cases. Efforts focused on parking management, commuter traffic, exploiting car sharing and promoting public transport by offering bonuses.
At Baden's occupational training centre the issue of mobility was part of the curriculum, helping to raise awareness, not just among workers, but also among apprentices as well. Badenmobil: to be continued.
Picture credit: City of Baden
